As the restrictions imposed on us by the pandemic ease, we look forward to welcoming more students back on campus. From Trimester 1 2023, more of our courses will be delivered (at least partly) in-person to ensure we can offer you the best learning experience through workshops, field trips, placements, labs, and face-to-face tutorials and lectures. When you enrol for 2023, be sure to check what modes are available for your chosen course(s).
Showing 107 courses for the subject Political Science and International Relations
The aim of this course is to develop knowledge of New Zealand politics and government through the lens of political science. We focus on key themes and current developments and because we are situated in Wellington we are able to call on politicians ...
Introduction to Political Ideas
POLS112
Politics is the activity of answering the question ‘how should we live?’ This course offers an introduction to some of the various ways political thinkers have tried to answer this question, by (re)defining fundamental political ideals like justice, ...
This course is an introduction to the principal concepts, issues and theoretical debates within the field of International Relations. Topics covered include: power, diplomacy, the United Nations, arms control, terrorism, developmental politics, civil...
What can we learn by comparing the politics and government of different countries? This course examines competing explanations for democratic and authoritarian regimes including economic, cultural and institutional theories of state development. Thes...
Introduction to Security Studies
INTP115
Why do countries sometimes fear for their safety or survival? Are other states or non-state actors the main problems? Are all security problems about violence? And how do policymakers analyse security issues? In posing these and other questions this ...
The aim of this course is to introduce students the major political, social and economic challenges and dilemmas facing the modern Middle East. Each week, we will discuss a key issue and concept, such as colonial legacies, state-society relations, th...
East Asian Politics
POLS203
This course introduces students to political change in modern East Asian states: China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam. It examines how different types of state have emerged out of the traditional East Asian political order, and how this outcome ha...
This course explores how world order has been understood and contested in IR, including the roots of the contemporary international system, debates about how it currently functions and critical accounts of the marginalisation and injustice it produce...
The New Europe
POLS205
This course introduces students to the diverse institutions that shape politics, society and economics in a number of European countries. It seeks to explain why political, social and economic diversity exists in Europe and why it matters. In doing s...
This course focuses on political parties and major policy debates in New Zealand. Topics vary from the ideologies and action principles of the main parties to changes in inequality and the welfare state. Other topics that will be covered include stat...
American Politics
POLS207
An introduction to American politics, with a particular focus on the continued development of America's system of government. The course examines major political themes in US politics against the background of the relationships between different bran...
This course will examine constitutional issues and broader political change in a number of Southeast Asian states. Students have the opportunity to gain a better understanding of political institutions and wider political trends in countries with ver...
Dictatorships and Revolutions
POLS209
This course introduces students to the nature and varieties of modern dictatorship and non-democracy, the causes of their emergence, and the processes that lead to their collapse and transformation. Our focus will be on developing concepts and tools ...
The aim of this course is to introduce students to the major political, social and economic challenges and dilemmas facing the modern Middle East. Each week, we will discuss a key issue and concept, such as colonial legacies, state-society relations,...
This course introduces the study of Chinese politics and international relations. It provides an introduction to China, its major foreign policy initiatives, key international relationships and orientation toward the rules-based international order. ...
This course focuses on the role of nationalism in both global and domestic politics. Is nationalism a regressive or progressive ideology? When is nationalism connected to patriotism and when to racism? The first part of the course will investigate th...
This course examines the nature of power in world politics and international security. Students will learn about theories and frameworks for conceptualising power in international relations. The course also examines how our understanding of power has...
Political theory is an act of ‘worlding’ – it creates fundamentally new ways of seeing the world and, when these visions catch and spread, powerfully shaping our world in material and political terms. This course will examine foundational texts from ...
In their quest for security how do states and non-state groups get other political actors to do things they would not otherwise do? How much can and should they rely on military power as opposed to economic power and the power of ideas? And what are ...
This course examines theories of political representation in parliamentary democracies and how these play out in a range of political institutions. Using New Zealand and the United Kingdom as our primary case studies, we explore interactions between ...
Ideas That Shape the World
POLS214
Political theory creates fundamentally new ways of seeing the world which, when they catch and spread, powerfully shape our world in material and political terms. This course will examine foundational texts from ancient Greece to the present, explori...
This course focuses on the political roles, functions and effects of the media in New Zealand. Topics studied will include: media and elections (including voting behaviour); news management and production; the role of public relations in political lo...
Governing Divided Societies
POLS231
This course examines methods of governing societies divided by deep ethnic, religious, or linguistic cleavages. Drawing on cases including South Africa, Northern Ireland, Iraq, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Malaysia and Fiji, we analyse forms of power sharing,...
This course will focus on public opinion and voting behaviour. It introduces students to people’s opinions on various policies and how that relates to their party preferences.
New Zealand in the World
INTP244
This course examines New Zealand as an actor in world politics. It provides an introductory survey of New Zealand's external relations and their main domestic and international determinants. The material covers foreign and defence policy and also exa...
Foreign Policy Analysis
INTP245
This course introduces and explores the notion of foreign policy, which is traditionally considered one of the most important bridges between 'domestic' and 'international' politics. Here the spotlight is kept on the sources, instruments, agents, pro...
This course looks at the global, international and domestic politics of the world economy. It looks at the ways in which economic processes shape politics and the ways in which political processes shape economics. We look at international trade, fina...
International Security
INTP248
This course is an introduction to the study of conflict and security. It examines how and why conflict emerges in the international system and explores different approaches to its mitigation and resolution, using both traditional materialist theories...
This course will focus on three areas: (1) understanding the nature and dynamics of cyberspace as a domain of international relations; (2) understanding the features of states and non-state actors acting as cyber powers; and (3) contemporary issues o...
This course surveys the historical and philosophical development of international relations theory and political theory. It will examine foundational texts drawn from thinkers across the range of western political theory, from ancient Greece to the t...
Ethics and International Affairs
PHIL264
This course examines important topics at the intersection of international relations and moral philosophy, including: just-war theory, humanitarian aid and intervention, nationalism, immigration, historical injustice, human rights and climate change....
This course aims to provide a theoretically grounded review of Japan’s post-WWII domestic politics and foreign policy. After examining Japan’s political system we will focus on Japan’s relations with the main actors in Northeast Asia (USA, China, Rus...
This course introduces the study of global environmental politics. It focuses on the international relations of climate change, environmental protection, pollution, resource management, energy security, food and other issues of environmental concern....
Critical Global Politics
INTP303
This course engages key ideas from critical theorists and their forerunners, questioning status quo assumptions about global politics. During the course we read and discuss primary texts from selected philosophers. We use their thought to examine the...
This course examines major positions and issues in contemporary political philosophy, including questions about rights, equality, justice, freedom, and democracy. This course is also able to be taken towards a major in POLS. See major requirements fo...
This course provides a theoretically grounded review of Japan’s post-WWII domestic politics and foreign policy. After examining Japan’s political system, we will focus on Japan’s relations with the main actors in Northeast Asia (USA, China, Russia an...
Tōrangapū Māori/Māori Politics
MAOR316
This online course examines a range of Māori political structures, movements, ideologies and visions. Students will also explore Māori politics in relation to Pacific and international Indigenous contexts. The themes covered in the course include Tin...
The Pacific Islands after 1945
HIST336
This course surveys developments in the Pacific Islands since 1945. In the first half of the course particular attention is paid to developments in the period between World War II and the attainment of independence in some Pacific Islands. The second...
This course explores the aftermath of World War II, namely the problem of displaced persons, refugees and expellees on the quest for peace and governance of Europe. It will include attention to humanitarian organisations, international law, the geogr...
This course examines the international politics of modern economic development. Why have some countries/regions developed better than others? Does their political economic model matter? Does the structure of international political economy matter? Th...
This course introduces students to the institutions and evolution of the European Union. It also examines explanations of the process of European integration. It asks whether the governance institutions of the EU are comparable to those of its member...
This course compares recent American strategy towards Asia and the Middle East, both important regions. It considers US approaches to regional security issues including Asia’s territorial disputes and the Middle East peace process, and the competitiv...
Migration and Identity
POLS352
This course examines the implications of immigration and increasing diversity for political processes and outcomes in contemporary societies, with particular focus on how the politics of migration and and identity intersect. Drawing especially on exa...
This course will focus on fundamental questions and challenges associated with contemporary New Zealand politics, the country's political culture, its leadership, and changes that have transformed and defined the contemporary political landscape. Thi...
This course introduces students to the international relations of East Asia: what they are, how they work, and what drives their development. The course examines the structural, institutional and normative dynamics that have shaped the international ...
This course examines the politics of the Pacific Island states, covering the area from Papua New Guinea i